Videos
Kyle Foley, crew chief for the Western Washington University X PRIZE Team from WWU's Vehicle Research Institute, discusses the dynamics between driver and crew chief as the team progresses through the efficiency events at the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE competition at Michigan International Speedway.
Jon Bremer, a member of the Western Washington University X PRIZE Team, describes the challenges the team has faced running its electric motor in the heat of Michigan. In this raw video, Bremer discusses the challenges that the team has overcome to ensure success in the finals of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE competition.
The Western Washington University X PRIZE Team successfully passed the technical inspection at the finals of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE competition, but not without a few headaches. Inspectors told the WWU students to replace the tires and fix a few wiring issues, but it was nothing the team could not handle, says Brent Wise, student team leader for WWU.
The finals of the X PRIZE competition continue through July 30 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. Stay tuned to http://www.youtube.com/wwu and to Western Today at http://www.wwu.edu/westerntoday for updates.
Video by Matthew Anderson | WWU
The 2010 Bellingham Festival of Music, featuring renowned musical director Michael Palmer and the internationally acclaimed Bellingham Festival Orchestra, has been taking place on the Western Washington University campus.
The last event of the 2010 festival is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. July 18 in the WWU Concert Hall.
For a full schedule of events, visit http://www.bellinghamfestival.org/schedule/2010.htm.
The Compass 2 Campus Western Washington University Mentorship Initiative is a pilot program implemented by House Bill 1986 which passed both Houses of the legislature on April 21, 2009.
The program is designed to increase access to higher education by providing an opportunity for 5th grade students from traditionally underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds in Whatcom and Skagit counties to be mentored by university students.
Modeled after a successful program in Wisconsin, Compass 2 Campus aims to get more kids thinking early about college with the help of WWU student mentors and role models to show them the importance of higher education.
“Research tells us mentorship is the key,” said Cyndie Shepard, volunteer director of the program. “Kids who are mentored or who have a significant adult in their lives have a better chance of success.”
The program at WWU will grow each year, eventually covering fifth through 12th grades in selected schools.
Working with elementary school teachers, the WWU students learn about the kids’ aspirations and talk to them about how going to college can help them reach those dreams.
Shepard co-founded a program similar to Compass 2 Campus several years ago at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, where her husband, WWU President Bruce Shepard, was chancellor.
The Wisconsin program, which will graduate its first kids from high school this year, has shown improved grades and attendance among the youngsters who participated, Cyndie Shepard said. It’s set to start soon at a second university, UW Eau Claire.
“We found the more structured we became, the more purposeful we became, the better our results were looking,” she said. “We have a formula that works very, very well.”
While many mentoring programs focus their efforts on youngsters who have already shown academic promise or interest, Compass 2 Campus aims to reach all youngsters – even those who haven’t shown much potential at all.
“I think we miss a lot of very bright children by just assuming that they’ll never make it because they don’t do well in school,” Cyndie Shepard said. “We typically let those kids go. We’re saying ‘We’re not letting you go.’”
In middle and high schools, WWU students will assist students with academic skills and serve as role models and mentors to youngsters and teens building their futures.
The WWU mentors are receiving training through a three-credit class available to all majors. About half of the 430 students enrolled are from Western’s Woodring College of Education, or hope to be. The rest are from programs throughout campus.
Education students are usually tied down by their junior and senior years by other commitments that have them in classrooms, said Stephanie Salzman, dean of Woodring College of Education. So drawing WWU students from all disciplines is critical.
“It’s an opportunity to involve Western students who haven’t been involved before,” Salzman said. “This enhances the community outreach culture of this campus and the service orientation of our students.”
This music video from Facilities Management at Western Washington University parodies "The Twilight Zone" television show to disseminate information regarding construction awareness and safety at WWU.
Sarah Ishmael, a student member of Western Washington University's Board of Trustees, speaks at the 9 a.m. commencement ceremony June 12. Ishmael, graduate of Gig Harbor High School, majored in Inclusive Political Advocacy and Higher Education Policy and speaks about how education prepares graduates to make a difference.
The Faculty & Staff Wellness Program at Western Washington University provides water aerobics as a way for WWU faculty and staff to exercise in a low-resistance environment. For more information on the program, visit http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/hr/wellness/.
Former Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro ('66) was the keynote speaker at the second ceremony of three Spring Commencement ceremonies at Western Washington University on June 12, 2010.
Munro earned an education/political science degree from WWU in 1966 and now serves on Western's Board of Trustees. He was elected five times as Washington's Secretary of State from 1980 to 2001. Known for promoting voter participation, Munro remains involved with the Ralph Munro Institute for Civic Education at WWU, which encourages civic literacy among secondary-education teachers and the public at large. Western also recognized him as a Distinguished Alumnus in 1989.
Kevin Raymond, a former member of the Board of Trustees at Western Washington University, speaks at the third WWU commencement ceremony on June 12, 2010, in Carver Gymnasium.
Raymond, director of external affairs for two green technology companies, is a graduate of WWU's Huxley College of the Environment.
He served on WWU's Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2009 and has served in leadership positions in environmentally-oriented nonprofit organizations and business start-ups. Currently, he is director of external relations for Pacific Coast Canola LLC, which is gathering financing to build a factory in Eastern Washington to produce canola oil for use in both foods and renewable fuels. He serves the same role for McKinstry Reklaim LLC, whose Boardman, Ore., plant uses an earth-friendly process to recycle rubber tires.